395th infantry regiment 99th infantry division

When I got to Hfen, I found the area too big to cover in one afternoon. The 3rd Battalion, 395th Infantry, led by Lt. Col. McClernand Butler and 2nd Lt. Col. Roy S. Groffy, occupied the area around Hfen, Germany, on the border with Belgium during early December. Specific units were charged with penetrating Germany's West Wall. A group of photos from his wartime, unfortenately we have not been able to. It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. Seth Paridon was a staff historian at The National WWII Museumfrom2005 to 2020. On 5 March 1941, as the United States began to mobilize for the possibility of war, McClernand Butler became a second lieutenant in the Regular Army. Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, commander of 3/395. Eisenhower wrote, "the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Ardennes campaign."[3][4]. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. These two German divisions directed their fury against the 395th early on the morning of the December 17. Good luck with your quest. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. 394th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia TO: Division Surgeon, 99th Infantry Division I. During the battle to come, if the Germans succeeded in taking Hfen, their ranks would be swelled rapidly, and the 99th and 2nd Infantry Divisions would be outflanked and could be attacked from the rear. The Battles for Elsenborn Ridge Part I - New Orleans Dad proudly told that the 99th was the first complete unit cross the Remagen Bridge on March 9th or 10th. The 395th's casualties were extremely light: four dead, seven wounded, and four men missing. Two men who had been sent on foot to regimental headquarters to seek reinforcements were later captured. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. 99th Infantry Division - U.S. Army Center of Military History [19] The regiment's successful defense prevented the Germans, who had counted on surprise, numbers, and minimum hard fighting as their keys to success, from accessing the best routes into the Belgium interior, and seriously delayed their scheduled advance by more than 48 hours, allowing the Americans to move large numbers of units and bring up reserves. The Germans would never take Hfen, nor most of their other ambitious objectives in the Ardennes, due in large part to the soldiers of 3/395 and the 99th ID as a whole. provides support December 1944. When told it was 3/395, the prisoner replied, It must be one of your best formations.. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the unit suffered many casualties, yet tenaciously held its defensive position. Subscribe to 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division Footer menu. From Camp Maxey they took a train to Camp Myles Standish outside Boston. At the end of the day, the veterans of the 26th Infantry still held their groundand looked out on a battlefield strewn with destroyed German armor and scores of enemy dead. American artillery fired at pre-registered locations along the German route of advance, and along with support from in the knick of time arriving American armor halted and turned the German advance into a retreat. 395 th Regiment Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division Demobilized 30 November 1918 Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the. The 395th Regiment's success earned it many difficult assignments. Location of the 99th ID sector (red box) on a map of the Bulge. The 3rd Battalion of the 395th Infantry Regiment (3/395), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel McClernand Butler, occupied the town of Hfen on the German border. The Allied victory against the Axis was a long journeyone that actually took much longer than the war itself. "Blue" was the code word for the 3rd battalion under Army infantry's triangular organization. The 99th crossed the Ludwig Canal against stiff resistance and established a bridgehead over the Altmuhl River, 25 April. Put under operational control of V Corps, First Army, it moved to Le Havre, France on 3 November and proceeded to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines. In the northern portion of the American line, heavy artillery shells crashed around the positions of the un-tested 99th Infantry Division from Lanzerath in the south to the forested areas near Monschau in the north. [8], That is three to four times wider than recommended by Army textbooks. [16], On 16 July 2003, the command was redesignated as the 99th Regional Readiness Command, placing additional emphasis on training, readiness, and mobilization. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [13], German prisoners captured during the Battle of the Bulge volunteered praise of the 99th's effective defense of Hfen. Honor Roll - 99th Infantry Division The black represents the iron from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where many of the troops were from. And while the defense of the crossroads of hell was gallant to be sure, it was not the back breaker that most people assume it to have been. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Artificial Intelligence just flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon for the US military, WWII vet finally receives Silver Star for heroism at Battle of the Bulge, This is the massive Nazi sneak attack at the Battle of the Bulge, Rarely seen footage from the Battle of the Bulge, The first tank to break into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge was almost lost to history. Pennsylvania State College, and the Pennsylvania Military College. During the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, the 3rd Battalion took 19 prisoners and killed an estimated 200 Germans. This assault, like the first, was ground to a halt due to heavy American small arms and artillery fire. Soldiers who were in direct support of the relief efforts were also awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as a personal award. [1] The 99th Infantry's report stated that 1,500 Jews were "living under terrible conditions and approximately 600 required hospitalization due to starvation and disease.". German Panzer tanks en route to the Ardennes. Fourteen of the 18 platoon members were wounded, while only one soldier, a member of the artillery observation team, was killed. The black background [2] Historian John S.D. On May 34, 1945, as the 99th moved deeper into Bavaria, it liberated one of a number of Dachau subcamps near the town of Mhldorf. Here it held firmly against violent enemy attacks. [6] On more than one occasion, BAR gunners would allow Germans to get within feet of their positions before opening fire, with the objective of increasing the odds of killing the attacking Germans. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 The 197th Infantry Division (German: 197. The Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Division was the most decorated platoon for a single action of World War II. . That task fell to the 277th Volksgrenadier Division and the 12th SS Panzer Division. Who were the soldiers of the 99th infrantry div? | WWII Forums [16], In September 2007, in preparation for the transition to Fort Dix and establishment of the new 99th RSC, the 99th RRC assumed administrative responsibility for the former regions of the 77th and 94th RRCs, which had inactivated. History | AMEDD Center of History & Heritage The division was also known as the "Battle Babies" during 1945, a sobriquet coined by a United Press correspondent when the division was first mentioned in press reports during the Battle of the Bulge. Although cut up and surrounded in part, the 99th was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack, and held their positions until reinforcements arrived. The regiment was organized with three battalions, each containing three rifle companies and a weapons company armed with .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine guns. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line. The program never fulfilled its promise, and the large number of "ASTPers" were rapidly integrated into various divisions to make up for personnel shortages in front line units during 1944. The 99th Division was constituted at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, on 23 July 1918. 395th Infantry Regiment 99th Infantry Division Despite fatigue, constant enemy shelling, and ever-increasing enemy pressure, the Third Battalion guarded a 6,000 yards (5,500m)-long front and destroyed 75 percent of three German infantry regiments. Accurate estimates of German wounded were not possible, but about 20 percent of the 326th Volksgrenadier Division were lost. The infantry at Hfen lay in a foxhole line along a 910 metres (2,990ft) front on the eastern side of the village, backed up by dug-out support positions. A group There Major Butler collapsed due to exhaustion on 30 April, and Lt. Col. J. 26 (Unit Commendations)", The 99th Infantry Division During World War II, "Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division", Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army, http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html, Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division, Checkerboard, official publication of 99th Infantry Division Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=99th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)&oldid=1131083137, Infantry divisions of the United States Army, United States Army divisions during World War II, Military units and formations established in 1918, Infantry divisions of the United States Army in World War II, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, United States Army divisions of World War I, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 395th Infantry Regiment (united States) - Encyclopedia Information They were tasked with moving 10 miles (16km) behind the German lines and cutting the Autobahn to prevent the withdrawal of the Germans. He returned to Illinois and in 1933 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the National Guard. Butler held a single platoon of 40 men from Company L in reserve. The 395th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States 99th Infantry Division.It was organized with the rest of the 99th on 16 November 1942 at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi. To make circumstances worse, just beyond the bloodied-but-not-beaten Volksgrenadiers waited the tanks of the 6th Panzer Army. Many members of the 99th Infantry Division had participated in the Army Specialized Training Program or ASTP, derisively nicknamed "all safe 'till peace;" in February 1944, the program was drawn down, and the majority of its members were assigned to later-deploying divisions such as the 99th. The 99th RSC continued to support operations in the Balkan Republics while providing refuge to those fleeing Kosovo as they sought temporary recovery in the United States. The 99th Infantry Division, comprising the 393rd, 394th, and the 395th Infantry Regiments, arrived in England on 10 October 1944. The breakout from Saint-L, France was accomplished far more rapidly than Allied planners had dared hope, and American units plunged through the French countryside with undreamed of rapidity, far in advance of operational plans. In a long fight with about 500 men of the 1st Battalion, 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, the 18 men of the platoon along with four artillery observers inflicted between 60[6][7] to more than 100[8] casualties on the Germans. Butler attended, but did not graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Allied forces were fighting their way across France, and fresh units were badly needed in autumn 1944 to continue to press the offensive. The battalion also had its own Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, as well as medics and support personnel. In early December, much of the Allied forces were established in a general defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. Crest The crest is that of the U.S. Army Reserve. The blue and white checkerboard in the division's insignia is taken from the coat of arms of William Pitt, for whom Pittsburgh is named. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children. Due to the dwindling attendance over the years, the decision was made to hold the final convention in 2011. Images of picturesque Ardennes landscapes before Christmas, conifers with branches drooping from heavy snowfall and beleaguered American forces doggedly defending against a last gasp attack by a defeated enemy all dot the mind when thinking of the Bulge. The Germans planned to use massed infantry assaults to punch holes in the American lines, after which the feared German tanks, or panzers, would race through these gaps while the winter weather kept Allied planes grounded. The German assault caught the 99ers off guard initially, due to the heavy artillery bombardment, but the infantrymen and their supporting mortar fire were able to repel the initial assault at a murderously close range due to the proximity of the opposing tree line from where the enemy advanced. "[13] The division continued to attack without opposition to the Inn River and Giesenhausen until VE-day. No reserves were available . A U.S. Army World War II division was configured as a Triangular division, with three regimental maneuver elements. They killed Germans coming at them from the front, flanks and rear. 395th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Infogalactic: the planetary But the infantry often bore worse casualties than the tanks did and had to be replaced and reinforced more quickly. Yet, despite their successful defense and reinforcement from the 2nd Division, the 395th was in a precarious position on the morning of the December 17. Lineage and Honors Information as of 12 January 2018, CHARLES R. BOWERY, JR.Chief of Military History, Constituted 23 July 1918 in the National Army as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division, Reconstituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as the 395th Infantry and assigned to the 99th Division (later redesignated as the 99th Infantry Division), Organized in November 1921 with Headquarters at Franklin, Pennsylvania, Ordered into active military service 15 November 1942 and reorganized at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi, Inactivated 29 September 1945 at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve), Relieved 29 October 1998 from assignment to the 99th Infantry Division, Redesignated 17 October 1999 as the 395th Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the 75th Division (Training Support); 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions concurrently allotted to the Regular Army, Regiment reorganized 2 November 2008 as a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions relieved from assignment to the 75th Division (Training Support), Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest, Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2008-2011, Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes, Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ARDENNES. In the event of an emergency, the battalion headquarters and company administrative personnel, including clerks and motor-pool staff, were to join the platoon, creating a small reserve force of about 100 men. [6], The regiment's (3rd Battalion) earned the sobriquet Butler's Battlin' Blue Bastards derived from the name of its single commander, its special fighting abilities, the battalion's color designation, and because the regiment was often lent out and belonged to no one. In January 2003, the 99th RSC started mobilizing units for projected operations in Iraq. This northern shoulder of the American line where the 99th ID was entrenched would be the hinge on which the German assault would pivot northwest toward Antwerp. 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division | American Battle Still, some German assaults penetrated American lines near the town of Hofen where they were eventually captured after retreating into houses in the town. The German spearhead in the north, led by the 1st SS Panzer Division and Jochen Peipers Kampfgruppe plowed through jammed roads to the south of Elsenborn and the twin villages of Krinkelt and Rocherath hell bent on their ultimate destination of the Meuse River. The division headquarters was organized in November 1921. 395thIR - 99th Infantry Division The Germans threw wave after wave of infantry, and a unit of panzers, at the town. The division insignia is a three lined checkerboard design of blue and white squares centered on a black shield. The campaign in North Africa began with a daring Anglo-American commando raid code-named Operation RESERVIST. The 395th Infantry had mostly held their lines, and now with the battle hardened 2nd Infantry Division on the way to back them up, the lines of defense near Elsenborn appeared to be significantly harder to pierce. [10], Around Hfen, which the 395th defended, the ground was marked with open hills. The 99th RRC continued to provide command and control for assigned units and support for the ongoing deployments. 99th Infantry Division Historical Society 99th Infantry Division Battle Babies The 99th Infantry Division, nicknamed "Battle Babies" and compromised of the 393rd, 394th, 395th Infantry Regiments and supporting units, spent approximately 151 days in combat during World War Two.